K-pop girl group 2NE1's Dara visits S'pore attractions after Waterbomb set
Benson Ang for The Straits Times
First, they were soaked in water. Then, they soaked in the sights.
Singers who took the stage at the recent Waterbomb Singapore 2025 music festival on Aug 30 and 31 have been using their downtime to explore the Lion City.
On Sept 4 and 5, South Korean singer Dara from K-pop girl group 2NE1 uploaded photos of herself on Instagram at various locations across the island after performing at Sentosa's Siloso Beach on Aug 31 with her bandmates CL and Minzy.
The images show her inside a capsule of the Singapore Flyer, on a bumboat at Marina Bay, and on the Read Bridge at Clarke Quay. She also posted snaps of local dishes such as chilli crab.
At theme park Universal Studios Singapore, she posed with the Minion characters, rode the Buggie Boogie party-themed carousel and braved the Revenge of the Mummy roller coaster.
The 40-year-old captioned her posts: "After work, here comes The Tourist Dara!"
They elicted a response from the Singapore Tourism Board's Visit Singapore, which wrote in the comments section: "Done like a true local. Blackjacks (2NE1's fandom name) are always happy to have you in SG, Dara."
The star, whose full name is Sandara Park, is known for her love of Singapore. During 2NE1's 37-minute set at Waterbomb Singapore, she said on stage: "I feel like we should come back to Singapore every August."
During one of the quartet's concerts at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in December 2024, she told the audience: "We have so many memories of Singapore - I have a lot. I love Universal Studios Singapore, Sentosa, the Flyer. I love everything about Singapore."
Another artiste from the Waterbomb Singapore line-up who took the opportunity to hit popular local attractions was Hong Kong singer Anson Lo from boy band Mirror, who performed on Aug 31.
The 30-year-old posted on Instagram on Aug 30 that he visited the Singapore Oceanarium, where he took photos of sea jellies and sharks. He also shared a picture of the road sign of Anson Road in Tanjong Pagar as a nod to his moniker.
The Visit Singapore team managed to get Lo to play a culinary-themed game of This Or That, the video of which went up on Instagram on Sept 3, where he shared that he would prefer to eat chilli crab for five days in a row instead of durian for the same duration.
He added that he would choose steamed chicken rice over the roasted version because it was "healthier".
